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I really hate to ask such question but what if we live in alternate universe where internet don't exists(let's say internet were never invented in first place) but anime and manga did. It also means no fansub, no downloads, no internet related things. Anime and manga stuck in DVD/Blu-Ray and mangas in its printed form(not scanlated).

My favorite theory is that we may never know what latest anime and manga come out in Japan. As example we just bought Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu and K-ON! DVDs while the Japanese already saw latest KyoAni show. We only read few volumes of Naruto, Bleach and One Piece while the Japanese already have 400+ chapters.

Our choices for anime and manga may probably limited if internet don't exists.

Japan is leery of internet releasing, only recently have they really opened up to streaming new content. Many distribution channels are still dominated by relatively old school tv and dvd.

Not so in America and probably the west in general. There is much less distribution on tv and dvd sales are small relative to the market. Whats more the anime fan is younger and tech savvy so naturally there will be a large pursuit of material from the internet.

Naturally if the internet wasn't so convinient at distributing information the old style DVD models would be more prominent.

Naturally this will break down into a fansub vs. non fansub argument.

I'll make my two cents then largely leave it alone.

If every other major mass media in American, particularly mainstream books, movies and music are feeling the pinch due to illegal distribution it's stupid to think that anime would not in the same way, especially because anime makes so little money in this country anyways (relative to other franchises and media).

If the internet didn't exist, then YES, there probably would be less awareness of a large group of anime titles. How badly would that affect sales? That's a little more tricky to me. There likely wouldn't be the licencing overdrive that hurt the industry back in the mid 2000s.

The internet is going to drastically affect bottom lines of anime companies stateside, it obviously did so for the worse hence companies started alternatively to crack down on fansubs and FINALLY embrace streaming.

Haruhi won't exist here... maybe (as the companies involved think it is too Japanese for the US anime fans' taste).

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How many of you were fans of anime in the early 90's? Heck, how many of you were even born prior to that? Back then, the Internet for the general audience like ourselves was rather... "new".

Later, I (or perhaps someone else among the older folk) can tell you about those VHS days. And believe me, random VHS tapes found in places like Blockbuster Video were really the only places y'can find anime. That is... unless you had access to some of the "underground" and early versions of fansubbing. Those were quite rare to find.

I remember when there was no internet , I'd be taken to the Video stores back in the early-mid nineties here and looking at the Animes.. 1980s Bubblegum Crisis.. Dominant Tank Police.. Guyver and a few others like Burn Up or Burn Up W , something like that

was only place and time I could watch anime IN Australia even though Sailor Moon and Teknoman Blade was airing since 1992 (btw I was under 8 years old back then , Asian Parents FTW not knowing the crazy stuff happening in Dominant Tank Polce)
also at the same time I was watching old school Japanese movies like Godzilla and "Destroy All Monsters"

as for figures , there was Anime stores in Chinatown back in 1993 from what I remember , saw Gunpla back then and other stuff , till 2005 , those anime stores in Chinatown Sydney were the only places I could get my figures (as I was under 18, didnt know about paypal and online stores like AmiAmi etc)

now during my young years I'd be taken back to Taiwan , Philippines and Singapore and Anime was pretty much everywhere in those countries , so I'd have some knowledge of it before having a PC with Internet

Well that too, but mainly, most of us would just ignore it, and anyone that would be interested would have to look around for obscure dvds or import overpriced ones. >.>

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It won't be much loss for the japanese, since most of its production, if not almost of it, is targeted toward the domestic market. As for the international market? It will likely blow goatwiener, mostly because the importers will just play it safe with the more safe and sure hit genres, like shounen, mecha and what have always worked in USA, Canada, Mexico, South East Asia, Europe and the rest of teh world (because as I have said before, what have worked well in USA may not have worked well in France or Brazil).

The Internet has bridged communications across the planet more so than any other media form. There was TV, radio, and other forms that came before it. However, none of those had the bridging effect of the Internet. The Internet proved itself to be a fast, cost-effective means of communication over large distances.

Oddly enough, with satellite technology, I find myself somewhat confused as to why - the likes of TV and radio failed.

But now, look at how TV is structured. If you live in America, do you remember watching TV shows from say... Europe? Or Japan? I don't. As far as I can remember, TV networks geared themselves for domestic audiences. Shows and commercials are all aimed for domestic markets. For access to International TV, you'd have to see if it is available in a cable network (like BBC). On top of that, throw in the region codes.

Thus here, large TV networks literally controlled what you can watch. Under this environment, anime would remain "underground" - just as it did in the 1980's and early 90's.

even without the internet, I'm pretty sure some popular animes would have found their way over the ocean and onto the American air waves. The growth of anime fandom would have been slower and much less, but probably small pockets of college anime clubs would have helped spread the word.
but slow is the name of the game, and it would not have been good for the industry IMO because although there would be less pirating, there would also be less buying.

But now, look at how TV is structured. If you live in America, do you remember watching TV shows from say... Europe? Or Japan? I don't. As far as I can remember, TV networks geared themselves for domestic audiences.
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Australia has a channel called "SBS" It has been around since late 80s and they're mostly focused on showing content around the world cause of Australias Diversity , often there'd be an "Eastern Eye" week where the shows mostly were from South East and East Asia

Australia has a channel called "SBS" It has been around since late 80s and they're mostly focused on showing content around the world cause of Australias Diversity , often there'd be an "Eastern Eye" week where the shows mostly were from South East and East Asia

True, but not many titles were played on either SBS or ABC2. Furthermore, nearly all of them were only screened as dubs (and considering SBS screens so many foreign shows in their native lanuguage, this really surprises me), plus on SBS it quickly got to the point of mainly replaying Miyazaki titles.

The main drawback of losing the Internet as an avenue would be the loss of choice and the loss of being able to try before you buy. Because most people won't buy something without knowing what it's like. In the end, it would purely come down to what the licensing companies think is worth watching. What sells and what is quality are not the same thing. In fact, it could be strongly argued the gap between sales and quality has markedly increased in recent times. 2-3 series from a season is a fraction and no guarantee that the choices made were necessarily the right ones.

I can understand the frustration of the Japanese, though. A series has enough problems cracking the 5k mark which means a series will begin to return a worthwhile profit and not many do that even in Japan. In the U.S. it's been very dry on that front lately. The only two relatively new titles I've heard to do that in recent times are Baccano and Sekirei. Furthermore, manga titles that sell well in the U.S. are far less varied than what sells in Japan. It could be Japan is getting fed up with titles that are popular over the Internet not translating into sales in the West.

And as for how it was back in the 80s - I recall Miyazaki titles, Sherlock Hound and Voltron being all that was available and only on VHS. Stuff like Kimagure Orange Road, Maison Ikkoku and the like weren't licensed until the late 90s. Effectively Evangelion caused things to pick up in the West then Cowboy Bebop and Trigun really caused it to surge and series started to appear on TV.

Things would still get through but the Internet heavily amplifies it. Furthermore, I can'i imagine anime clubs existing at all without the Internet. Because to play a title to a good number of people that is licensed costs quite an amount just for 1 episode, let alone a series.

Ultimately I don't want someone else dictating what I should watch. There's more to anime than just Miyazaki and Shounen Jump titles, but telling that to most people in the West is a very tough battle. But it's one I partake in.

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